I Could Kiss Dumbledore
by Marauder'sFlower
Summary: I was James Potter, and  although I understand my own awesomeness  I was not sure that I could be Head Boy. In fact, I was pretty sure Dumbledore had just ruined my life. Now a TWO-SHOT.
1. Chapter 1

Head Boy. It has a nice ring, doesn't it? Unless it was connected with my name. I was James Potter, fantastic Quidditch player, devilishly handsome heart breaker, and extraordinary prankster. But Head Boy, responsible rule follower, model student, and the one others came to for help? That didn't fit me at all.

When I first got my letter, telling me of my new position, I thought Dumbledore had gone crazy (well crazier). My friends and family thought it was a joke. I kept expecting to a get another letter saying it was all a mistake. None ever came.

Before I knew it, school was starting. I was nervous as I boarded the Hogwarts Express. Yes, I, James Potter, the boy who thought he could do no wrong, was unsure about being Head Boy. All I could think about was all the ways I'd mess up. As soon as I arrived at Hogwarts I'd go to my headmaster and tell him that he was wrong.

I entered the prefect's compartment and there sat Lily Evans, looking as beautiful as ever. She saw me, blinked a few times as if trying to clear her visions, and then burst into hysterical laughter.

"P...P...Potter! Dumbledore... picked... you?" She said, gasping for breath between each word.

I smiled sheepishly, "Yeah, who knew what he was thinking?"

She took a deep breath and sighed, holding back her laughter. " I suppose it could be worse. "

My eyes widened. "It could?"

"Yes, it could." She said matter-of-factly. "The Head Boy could have been Sirius or Peter. Even worse, it could have been Snape." She shuddered. "Don't let me down, Potter."

I swallowed. Let her down. Now I was really worried. I already had a list of ways I could mess up, and with the added pressure of Lily's expectations, I lost all faith in myself.

"Actually..." I paused, trying to decide the best was to explain. "I was thinking that I'd go to Dumbledore as soon as I got to Hogwarts and tell him that I couldn't do the job."

Her jaw dropped. "Excuse me? Are you giving up?"

"I can't handle the pressure."

"Her shock turned into anger. "So you can be on the Quidditch team, you can be the master of pranks, you can have every person look up to you, and you can goof-off during class and still manage to get top grades, yet you can't handle pressure?"

"I just can't be responsible."

Her eyes were still narrowed but the corners of her mouth twitch ever so slightly.

"Well I have enough responsibility for three people, so I guess you're covered."

I nodded and pretended to I agree. If Dumbledore wasn't such a great wizard I'd hex him the second I saw him. My life was ruined and it was all his fault. Even if I couldn't hex him, I'd most certainly give him evil glares and say rude things to him.

Fortunately for him, I never got the chance. Over the first two weeks of school I was kept busy and barely saw the headmaster. There was time to tell him he'd lost his mind. I was either doing homework, playing Quidditch, doing head duties, or spending time with my friends.

I had promised my fellow Marauders that being Head Boy wasn't going to change me. We still sneaked around the castle at night, we still didn't pay attention during class, and we still spent our days plotting ways to prank Snape and the other Slytherins. During a potions class I blew up Snape's cauldron and most of his face. He spent the next week in the Hospital Wing and I didn't get caught.

Overall we Marauders had calmed down. We weren't the troublemakers we'd been two years ago, but that didn't mean we wanted to be known as goody-two-shoes. I was upset when a fifth year prefect told me she couldn't believe I had finally decided to be good. In order to prove that I wasn't, I convinced her to skip one of her classes and break into Filch's office just to bother him. It was her first time doing anything of the sort and she had a blast. I then got to show her all the ways to have fun in detention. Lily put a lot of effort into straightening her out afterwards, but not a word was said to me about the situation.

Lily was right when she said she was responsible enough for the both of us. Whenever I started to do or say something I shouldn't, Lily would give me a look or a word and I'd stop. When I wasn't sure what to do, she was right there, gently guiding me. She never got mad. She never gave up. I wasn't sure she was the same Lily Evans I'd known the last six years.

Spending all that time peacefully with her would have been nice, if I wasn't in so much need of her guidance. I felt as if she was my mother. It's very difficult to win a girl's affection when she is taking over where my mother left off. And though we were on good terms for the first time ever, I had the feeling that she was getting farther away from falling in love with me. Before, I'd been this arrogant boy that drove her crazy, yet managed to make her smile every so often. Now I was just her innocent puppy that needed training. I felt pathetic.

So it was in the interest of my reputation and future relationship with Lily that I headed to the headmaster's office. It must be impossible to surprise Dumbledore because he seemed as if he had been expecting me.

"James, I've been expecting you."

I knew it.

"Professor, since you seem to know everything, why don't you tell me why I came here." I was in no mood to be polite.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "You came here to tell me that I must be crazy to make you Head Boy and you want me to take away your position."

I crossed my arms and frowned. Did he have to know everything?

"I will say," he continued, "that you've been doing a fine job from what I can see so far, and I'd be sad to see you give up the job. However, I will not force you to keep it."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "A fine job? You can't have been paying attention. Lily is always telling me what to do, I convinced a prefect to skip class with me, and I exploded Snape's cauldron on purpose. How is that an example of a fine job?"

His eyes twinkled again; I wished they'd stop. "It all depends on how you view it. As I said, you are free to give up your position. I do ask that you consult Miss Evans before making a decision. She will be impacted as well."

"Fine." I huffed and walked to the door. "But don't count on me changing my mind."

I didn't need to look back at him to know he was smiling.

I broke the news to Lily later that night.

"Are you crazy?" She had been mad at me before, but never like this. "I don't even know where to start. You can't just stop! You have a responsibility to this school. If Dumbledore chose you, and thinks you're doing well, then I don't see the problem." She paused and glared. "In all the years I've known you, Potter, I've never been more disappointed."

I watched her stomp down the hall and I wasn't sure what to think. I had messed up even more with Lily, but that only proved how I wasn't cut out for the job. Dumbledore Shmumbledore. It was clear he had been far too busy worrying about the war to concentrate on his school.

I didn't give up my job right away. I was waiting for Lily to calm down enough so we could reasonably talk. I figured she'd be more willing to forgive me if I was Head Boy, but three days later she was still ignoring me. She didn't even look at me during meetings with the prefects. I had to finally decide I wasn't going to wait for her. I'd go talk to the headmaster in the morning.

With this plan in mind, I went on patrol, the last one I'd ever have to do. I was alone - Lily refused to work with me - until I came upon two first year boys fighting in the hallway and ran to separate them.

"Hey! Hold on. There is no reason for you to be out at night fighting." I pulled them apart and bent down to their height.

"But he's in Slytherin." One of them said, as if that was all the reason needed. I noticed he was wearing Gryffindor colors. I tried not to smile at all the memories that brought back.

"So what if he is? I've lost more house points than you can count because of fighting with Slytherins and you know what happened?" They shook their heads, eyes wide, drinking in every word I said. "Nothing. We still hate each other. All those detentions were spent making us hate each other more. Now it's too late to ever be friends. I could save one of their lives and still be hated. But during this war, it's important to have as many people on your side as you can. No matter what house they're in."

I gave each of them a hard look and they shuffled their feet. I could perfectly remember being like them; young and small, but ready to take on the world. Being forced to get along with Snape would've been hard then, but it was impossible now. If I could stop a feud here, it might end up better later.

"Now let's try to see what you two have in common." I continued, switching to a less serious tone. "Do either of you like Quidditch?"

They shook their heads. I frowned. What kind of boy didn't like Quidditch?

"How about..." I thought hard. What else did boys do? I wasn't going to encourage prank playing. "What do you want to be when you're older?"

The Gryffindor's face lit up. "I want to work with dragons."

The Slytherin looked surprised. "Me too!"

"There! You see? You aren't so different after all." I was feeling very pleased with myself.

They started talking about all sorts of dragon facts, ones that I had never heard. It amazed me how younger children could instantly become friends. I felt bad stopping them, but it was time for them to be in their dorms. So I sent them off with the promise that they could see each other tomorrow, and if anyone told them they couldn't talk to each other or made fun of them, I would personally hex that person. They scurried down the hall, with big smiles on their faces.

"I'm impressed, Potter."

I jumped. Lily was behind me, giggling. That was a good sign. "It's a shame that other children won't get to experience the James Potter wisdom."

"What?"

She sighed and walked closer. "Look, despite popular belief, I actually like you. Please believe me when I say that I really want you to be my co-Head. You're smart, you keep your head under pressure, you know how to take control of a situation, and every student in the school respects you, even the ones that hate you. The teachers like you, though you seem to give them no reason. If that's not criteria for a good Head Boy then I don't know what is. The truth is, if you give up your position then I do too. I can't do this without you. Half the things I do wouldn't get done if I didn't have your help. You're perfectly capable of handling this job. I would've just taken points from those boys, but you made enemies into friends. What other proof do you need?"

I was shocked and flattered. I also didn't know what to say. Lily reached over and squeezed my hand. "Just think about it. Please." She whispered before walking away.

I did think about it. I lost hours of sleep staring into the darkness. Lily's words brought a new perspective on my job. I could remember times when Lily was trying to get a group's attention and needed my help. There were also times when Lily had needed my ideas. Maybe every one else was seeing something I wasn't.

Morning came and so did my decision. After all, who was I to let down Lily Evans? I would continue on with my Head Boy job. I was going to tell her at breakfast, but she wasn't there. So I tried to catch her during Charms, but her friends kept her busy. I spent all morning trying to talk to her and finally, before lunch, I saw her walking alone in the hallway.

"Lily!" I called.

"Mr. Potter!" I froze at the familiar voice of Professor McGonagall. Lily had already turned around and was watching. I hoped McGonagall would make me look good.

"Hi Professor." I said sweetly, thinking through everything I'd done recently.

"Mr. Potter, will you please explain to me why these two young students, " she pointed behind her. They were the boys from last night. "were talking during my class and when I told them to stop they said I was going to get hexed by you."

It figures that the one time I'm responsible I get into trouble with McGonagall. "Oh, you see I was promoting school wide unity and I forgot to say that my rules don't apply to you. Can I fix this?"

"Go ahead." She said with raised eyebrows.

The boys looked like I was going to eat them. I bent down next to them and smiled. "OK guys, it's time to open up the book of James Potter advice. Rule number one: Always do what professors tell you. They tell me what to do too. Rule number two: Professor McGonagall is the best teacher in the world and is always fair, but she's on the strict side. Don't ever fool around in her class."

I saw the mentioned professor smile, so I took that as a sign to go on.

"Rule three: Don't talk during class, pass notes, but only if you know the material being taught. Rule four: Detention isn't the end of the world and can be fun if your best mate is with you. However, professors catch on and they'll separate you, so try to stay out of detention. Rule five: Your house mates will hate you if you lose them points and they'll love you if you win points, so do whatever you can to win points. Rule six: If you think doing your homework makes you look uncool then do it at night or in the back of the library, but always do it. You'll be glad you did."

The boys nodded. I glanced back at Lily who was watching intently.

"I have one more rule for you boys. Watch out for redheads. They can be fantastic companions, but they'll drive you crazy. So if you want a relationship with one, be careful."

I straightened up and looked at McGonagall. "My work here is done."

She nodded. "Professor Dumbledore would be proud." She placed a hand on the little boys' shoulders. "Come along boys."

"Professor Dumbledore would be proud." I repeated in a mocking voice as soon as she was out of earshot. "Why does everyone think I want him to be proud of me?"

"Because, even if you claim to hate him, you do want him to be proud of you." Lily said, coming up beside me. "I really liked those rules you gave, but tell me why you thought you needed to make them afraid of redheads."

I grinned. "If you haven't noticed, I told them everything I wish someone would've told me. I would have been saved a lot of trouble if I avoided you."

She stuck her tongue out at me. "You loved all the trouble I gave you."

"Wouldn't trade it for anything." We looked at each other for a moment. "So, can we be friends again?"

She pretended to think about it. "I guess we can."

"Good, because if I have to work with you all year I'd rather we like each other."

She threw her arms around me so quickly I was caught off guard. "I knew you'd come to your senses. You'll start to enjoy being Head Boy. I have so many things planned and plenty of perks come with the job." She stopped hugging me and slipped her hand in mine. "Come on, let's get lunch."

I followed her to the Great Hall, but I had an urge to run up to the headmaster's office and tell Dumbledore that he was right all along. He didn't hate me after all. In fact, he just made my life better. I was so happy I could kiss him.

On second thought, I think a 'thank you' is enough. I'll save the kissing for Lily.


	2. Chapter 2

Dumbledore was laughing at me. Sure, he seemed to be in conversation with McGonagall, but I knew better. Dumbledore loved being right. At the beginning of the year I claimed he was loony and old for making me Head Boy, and now, four weeks later, I was the best Head Boy this school could have. At least, that's what Lily Evans said. She was never wrong.

I had to admit, after I got over the prejudice of my position as Head Boy, I found I liked being an authority figure. I could leave class early for whatever excuse I could come up with, the teachers gave me less homework so I had more time to do my Head duties, and I got to spend quality time with the love of my life.

Though that last one could also be counted as a con. It was very difficult for me to be alone with Lily and not snog her. I only managed to refrain myself by thinking about how annoyed she'd be that I was wasting working hours on frivolous activities. That, and the fact that we weren't actually dating.

I still wasn't sure why we weren't dating. She had admitted last week that she liked me (sure she made it sound platonic, but I knew the deeper meaning) and even held my hand twice. I felt we were ready to move on to the next step, but she stubbornly insisted that she just wanted to be friends. We spent practically every moment together, yet she claimed it was just business.

Business was precisely what we were doing at the moment. Lily had interrupted my lunch to go over some minute points for our prefects' meeting tonight. I wasn't really interested. I trusted Lily's judgment and would go along with whatever she planned. My main concern at the moment was Dumbledore. He threw little glances our way and then smiled to himself. That's how I knew he was laughing at me.

I hadn't yet talked to Dumbledore since I decided I wanted to stay being Head Boy. I'd have to talk to him eventually, but I wanted to prolong that as long as I could. I didn't want to be close enough to hear him chuckle or see his eyes twinkle. I hated being wrong just as much as he loved being right.

"James, stop staring at the Headmaster and focus." Said Lily, scolding.

I turned back toward her. I hadn't even noticed I watching Dumbledore. She was frowning at me, but there was a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"I know you find old men with beards attractive and all," she said, "but you can ogle Professor Dumbledore later when I'm done talking to you."

Sirius, Peter, and Remus –who were sitting across from us- burst into laughter. I glared at them and kicked one of their shins. I was satisfied to see Sirius wince.

"Lily, love," I said sweetly, "you're the only one I ogle."

She rolled her eyes and pointed to the parchment I was supposed to be reading. "No one finds you charming."

"I do." Sirius piped up.

Lily ignored him. It was amazing how well she adjusted to being around my friends. "I was thinking that we should have some of the prefects start tutoring. Younger children are too afraid too ask for help from older kids, but you and I can ask the teachers which children they think need help and we can match the children with the appropriate prefects."

"Mmmhmm. That sounds like a great plan."

She narrowed her eyes. "It would be nice if you cared for a second."

"I do care, but you prepare everything so nicely that you don't really need my help. I'm the idea man; you're the planner. I suggested a tutoring program, now you plan it out."

She sighed. "You're such a child sometimes."

"I am not!"

"Then why do you have sauce on your face?" She grabbed a napkin and wiped off my chin. I felt myself blushing and I avoided the eyes of my friends. I had a habit of looking foolish when Lily was around.

"Stop doing that!" I whined and pushed her off. "You aren't my mother."

"Well I sure feel like I am at times!" She said back angrily. Despite our new, closer relationship, it was still too easy to get into a fight with each other. In fact, we seemed to fight more now then ever. Lily would find something to complain about, I'd get defensive, we'd fight, and an hour later we'd apologize and get back to work. It was our pattern and sometimes happened more than once in a day.

"Nobody asked you to raise me. I'm an adult." My eyes fell on two boys leaving the Great Hall. "I'm going to talk to Derek and Jacob."

Lily huffed. "Oh yes, Mr. Adult, run away from an argument to go play with your first year friends. That proves just how mature you are."

I didn't say anything to her; I was not in the mood to make it better between us. I ran out of the room to catch up to the younger boys and looked back once to make a face at Sirius. He understood I wanted him to calm Lily down. Avoiding looking at Lily, I caught eyes with Dumbledore. He chuckled.

Of course, now I was in an even worse mood. I hurried faster and caught up to Derek and Jacob. They were the two first years I had befriended two weeks ago and I had grown fond of them.

"Hello boys." I greeted them.

"Hello James." They said simultaneously and smiled identical smiles. They were always perfectly in sync with each other. Sirius and I weren't even so well timed.

"How are classes?" Being around them made me feel important. I liked the way they looked up to me – but maybe they only did that because I was so much taller than them.

Jacob made a face. "Professor McGonagall took ten points from me today because I didn't complete my homework. I thought teachers didn't take points from their own houses."

"Professor McGonagall doesn't care what house you're in. That's the only drawback of being in Gryffindor." I said with a grin.

Derek snickered. "I can think of a few other reasons to not be in Gryffindor."

The most amazing thing about Derek and Jacob was that Jacob was in Gryffindor and Derek was in Slytherin, yet they were best friends.

Jacob and I frowned. Even as best friends, they couldn't help but tease the other about his house.

"Gryffindor is the best house in the world." I said, offended. Even if I liked Derek, I was too full of house pride to not defend Gryffindor. "Dumbledore was in Gryffindor you know."

"Are you still swooning over Dumbledore?" said a voice behind me. I twirled around to see Lily, standing with her arms crossed.

"Are you following me? I'm not mature enough to be out of your supervision?"

Derek and Jacob shifted awkwardly beside me. I briefly thought about the bad example I was setting, but didn't care enough to stop fighting with the Head Girl.

"I am not following you. I came out here to settle our differences like adults, but apparently you aren't mature enough to do so!" Her eyes narrowed and her body stiffed in defense.

"I am capable of acting like an adult. You're the one who can accept that I've grown up." I crossed my arms too and we stared at each other angrily.

"Ahem."

Lily and I both turned to Dumbledore. I hadn't noticed him approach. Derek and Jacob were no longer around and students were walking quietly around us, avoiding us.

"If I may interrupt," said Dumbledore. "I've been observing you two very closely the past few weeks and I think I could shed some light on the situation."

Lily and I gaped at him. The Headmaster chuckled.

"I'll assume you'd like to hear my wisdom, which I must say is very good wisdom. We can't have our Head Boy and Girl fighting so frequently."

"We wouldn't have to fight if Potter would stop being himself." Lily said in a tone that I never thought I'd hear her said to a teacher.

"You've come right to the source of our problem." Dumbledore said.

"Wait!" I interjected. "Are you agreeing with her? You think I'm too immature to be Head Boy?"

"Of course not. I have already told you my opinions of your satisfactory performance in your job. By the way, thank you for deciding to keep your job."

"I meant to talk to you about that." I said, ashamed. He shrugged.

"Professor," said a very unhappy Lily. "Can you please tell us what you think our problem is and how we can fix it? I'd like to get this over with as soon as possible. I have a tutoring program to plan. Alone."

Dumbledore winked at me. "Miss Evans, you are the problem."

Lily's eyes opened wide and she started stuttering. I was both delighted and flabbergasted. I would have never expected Dumbledore to tell off Lily, and so bluntly.

"Me?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong – and I don't think I am – but from what I've seen, Miss Evans, you aren't treating Mr. Potter like and equal. Rather you degrade him every chance you get."

Lily opened her mouth to protest, but Dumbledore held up his hand and silenced her.

"I've noticed that you're uncomfortable being around Mr. Potter so often. His new found maturity confuses you, so you push him away in the manner you know best: by calling him immature and starting a fight."

I smirked. Lily's face was bright red, and she had no answer.

"My suggestion," the professor said wisely, "is for you, Miss Evans, to recognize Mr. Potter as he is and stop treating him like your inferior. You have no more power than he does and I advise you to respect that. I chose you both to be Heads because I thought you would work well as a team." He paused and then grinned widely. "I also thought you made a rather cute couple."

With flair only Dumbledore could have, he turned and walked back into the Great Hall. I took a deep breath and looked to Lily, but our Headmaster stuck his head through the door.

"One more thing Miss Evans. Professor McGonagall has asked me to advise you to keep certain whispered discussions out of her classroom. She isn't quite as interested in hair as you are."

He was gone again, and I turned to Lily once more. But she was running down the hallway. I groaned and ran after her. I should have fallen in love with someone that took less work.

Lily wasn't fast enough to escape me. Grabbing her arm, I pulled her to the side of the hallway we were in, thanking Merlin the hall was empty.

"Who's running now?" I said feeling frustrated with her. Seeing the blush across her face, I became a little more compassionate. "Look, I'm sorry that Professor Dumbledore criticized you like that."

"It wasn't your fault." She mumbled, staring at the floor. "His accusations were right and it is his job to make sure the students don't fight."

"His accusations were right?" I asked. This situation was confusing. Lily was purposely finding fault with me? I would have believed that last year, but I could have sworn she actually seemed to want to be my friend this year.

Lily didn't answer and she still refused to look at me. I wasn't going to leave her with out some resolution. I needed to get her talking.

"What did Dumbledore mean about you in McGonagall's class?" I asked the first thing that came to mind. Lily blushed even more.

"I'll tell you," she said after a moment of hesitation. She looked around the hall, saw that it was empty, and took a deep breath. "but promise that you won't move and you won't laugh."

"I won't laugh," I promised. "and I won't move if you promise not to run away."

"I promise."

I let go of her arm and she took a step closer to me. Surprised, I step backward.

"You said you wouldn't move." She stepped closer again. "I was telling my Transfiguration partner, Emma, that I've been wanting to do this."

Lily took another deep breath and slowly raised her right hand. For a second, I thought she was going to slap me. Instead, she ran her fingers through my hair. My eyes widened, not believing what was happening.

"Hmmm, does it ever go flat?" She pondered, her hand still in my hair.

I shook my head, too afraid to open my mouth and ruin this perfect moment. She was staring at my hair, biting her lip, her face inches from mine. I had not seen this coming.

"I'm sorry." She whispered. "You aren't as childish as I pretend you are. You're impressive as Head Boy. Much too impressive."

Her hand tightened into my hair and she yanked my face onto hers. Her lips moved against mine and her left hand joined the right hand in my hair. My arms encircled her waist and I prayed she wouldn't come to her senses.

"Dumbledore should criticize you more often." I said as we broke apart.

"I hope I won't give him any reasons to." She rested her head on my shoulder. I had definitely not seen any of this coming. Snuggling with Lily in a hallway always seemed like an unattainable dream.

"Is this really happening?" I questioned.

She giggled softly. "Shall I pinch you so you know you're awake?"

It turned out that Lily was a much nicer Head Girl after she kissed me. Our prefects' meeting when more smoothly than any before, she didn't have one single complaint. I gave her two weeks before she started nit picking at me again, because that was her nature. I wouldn't love her any other way.

The next morning at breakfast, Lily was again talking to me about our tutoring program. Only now she was sitting so close we were touching and kept giving me flirty looks.

I looked over to the teachers' table. Dumbledore was watching. When I caught his eye, he winked.

"James, you're ogling Dumbledore again." Lily said with a laugh.

"I was just thinking about what a genius that man is. It's like he's trying to make my life perfect." I said as I cupped my girlfriend's face in my hand. "I feel so happy I could kiss him."

She rolled her eyes and leaned closer. "I'd rather you not do that. Imagine the scandal of you cheating on me with our Headmaster. Can't you just kiss me instead?"

"Gladly." I said with a smirk and kissed her. "Maybe I'll send him a card instead."

* * *

**A/N: I originally wrote this as a ONESHOT but this little feeling kept nagging me to write another chapter. Three and a half months later here it is. This is one of my favorite stories that I've written and I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I've loved writing it. **


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